IS mortar fragments show traces of chemical arms

The Islamic State militia may have used mustard gas against opponents in northern Iraq, the US military said Friday, citing a field test that showed the presence of the chemical.

“That is a presumptive field test and it is not conclusive, and what those results tell us is merely the presence of that chemical”.

In the case of Makhmour, ISIS militants carried out that attack using mortar shells carrying a chemical agent Kurdish fighters had not encountered before, the Peshmerga field commander for Makhmour, Brig.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on August 21, Killea said fragments of the shells were collected by the Kurdish fighters and handed over to U.S. forces in the region.

“The fact that it’s being confirmed though, that they used it against Peshmerga and the U.S. has to confront it, may be a game-changer, and that may be the real problem here: The reality that ISIS is continuing to expand and adapt, and to adapt in ways that are incredibly risky”, Zarate said.

He said the testing was would take a couple of weeks to finalize.

He said sulfur mustard is a Class 1 chemical agent, which means it has few uses outside chemical warfare.

The chemical weapon, also known as mustard gas, can form large blisters on exposed skin and in the lungs.

“We’ve known that ISIS has not only maintained territory and momentum but has been advancing in terms of its weaponry, and there have been concerns that ISIS has gotten its hands on chemical weapons, so that concern is not new”.

In an interview with Press TV, former Central Intelligence Agency contractor Steven Kelley said the US military campaign against the Daesh terrorist group is a “cynical” effort to defeat the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The more extensive tests could also show how much agent was used “and where it came from”, he said.

It is unclear where IS might have obtained chemical weapons.

“We continue to monitor these reports closely, and would further stress that any use of chemicals or biological material as a weapon is completely inconsistent with global standards and norms regarding such capabilities”, Baskey said.